


Carelessness and Tea

by Dabberdees



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Ends happy though, From Big Finish and Classic to NuWho, Gen, Graham is the best bro, It's a big ball of wibbly-wobbly angst-filled stuff, Reference to past companions galore, Thirteen and Graham the best BroTP, for the fanzine prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2020-01-16 03:18:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18512815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dabberdees/pseuds/Dabberdees
Summary: The Doctor, too caught up in showing her friends around the universe forgets to check the date, which leads her human friends into direct danger.For the fanzine that's happening on Tumblr.Prompt: "I have a duty of care."





	Carelessness and Tea

“Stay behind me.” ordered the Doctor. “Don’t draw attention to yourselves, don’t do anything.”

“What’s going on Doc?” asked Graham close to her back and to her frustration his actions are making himself more visible.

“Just get back and don’t speak, just don’t do anything!”

“Why?” asked Graham again, this time with more force. “You shoved us back here without saying a thing, we deserve to know why. What’s got you so scared?”

“Gramps, leave it and come back,” said Ryan while extending a hand to Graham and latching it onto his jacket. “Just come back, please.”

“You have to tell us, we need to know Doc.” demanded Graham again before allowing Ryan to pull him backwards and into the crevice they found in their rush.

She flicks her eyes to each of them. “You’re human.” She gets three puzzled and apprehensive looks back. “You can’t be human here and on this day, I was so stupid, so… irresponsible, I should’ve checked the date.”

“Why not?” questioned Yaz this time. “What makes being human so dangerous here?”

“Just shut up and get back!” snapped the Doctor, causing each of them to startle at her tone. She pushes them further into the crevice, her hands rough and hard on them. “ _ Please _ .”

Graham raises his hands to hers and gently lowers them from his chest. “There’s hardly any room here Doc, we ain’t all gonna fit.”

She closes her eyes, her hands still pushing against his hands in vain. They’re going to be spotted, they’re going to be taken… and… and she doesn’t know what for, she always made sure to keep away from  _ them _ , keep her human friends away from  _ them _ but she was careless this time and didn't check, didn’t check the date on Georyx. She should’ve checked, she had a duty of… there’s screams in the distance, human screams of terror. She turns as quickly as she can and tries to work out what to do, Ryan and Yaz are sort of hidden and what Ryan has in height he lacks in build and Yaz, she’s smaller than the boys, they can both fit together and hope they’re not spotted. It’s Graham who’s stuck out... and visible to them. And when they see him, they'll see Ryan and Yaz and then they’ll take them from her, sell them or kill them and she’ll be powerless to stop it from happening. Like Adric.. or C'rizz, or… so many to name, so little time to give them the honour they deserve.

Graham gives up trying to hide and makes his way forward again, eyes intently locked on her and dragging her from her despondency. “We’re gonna need a plan Doc, cause we all heard those screams so you better damn well be honest with us right now, what happens here? Cause we know you know.”

“I should’ve checked, should’ve checked but got carried away, too caught up in showing off and…”

“Doctor! Come on.” urged Yaz with fear lacing her voice. “What happens?”

“They… the creatures here now, they cull humans, ones that are fit and healthy, they sell into slavery or into other stuff, none of it good, all horrible and… anyone else they....” There’s a grim look in Graham’s eye and he glances back at Ryan and Yaz who are hidden for the most part.  She digs around in her pockets hoping to find something, anything that would hide them and her hand grabs onto her long forgotten TARDIS key, hardly needed now, not since River told her she can open the doors with a click of her finger…  _ River _ , another she failed in a long line of failures. She pulls her thoughts away as a distant memory hits her… Martha, Jack… and the sounds of drums.

“Perception filter!” she called out, not loud enough to alert anyone but loud enough to install a semblance of hope in her human friends. “I made one before, years ago now but if I'm clever, and I know I am, I can do it again, I just need time.”

“Well, whatever it is you’re gonna do, do it cause I’m not sure how much time we have,” whispered Graham, edging further back now. He perks his head up and takes in a shaky breath when he hears more screams.

“They’re getting closer… that means people are…” started Yaz, her voice wavering in horror.

She glances up once and into the eyes of each them, realisation and fear rests on their faces. “I won't let that happen to you!” She promised. “I won’t let them take you.”

“It’s happening to the other humans though Doctor, we might be safe but they're dying or… worse, we have to do something, we can't just hide while people are dying!” argued Yaz with tears escaping her eyes.

She snaps her head back up again while her hands carry on working. “No, I can't lose you, I can't lose again, I can't. It was meant to be different this time, I was meant to be different.”

“Doc?” worried Graham.

She doesn't respond and gets to work properly, it was easier to make the filters before, she had the equipment and the time, she hardly has either now. “Graham, give me your phone now.” He nods and fumbles for it, handing it over without question and only groaning when she cracks it open, pulling the needed battery and microchip and throwing the rest away. She brings out her trusty sonic to weld it all together with hope, hope that it’ll work. It has to work because it’s her only plan and the screams are getting closer, so close now. Her hearts ache for the people dying, for the people being taken but she can’t save them. She can only save her friends, she has to save her friends. She has a duty of care and she can't fail them again, not like she failed the others. Too many to name and so many lost because she was so careless. Or when they wanted to do her proud, take a leaf from her book and impress her, only to die in the process.

“Done!” cried the Doctor, standing up and pushing the key, secured on a long chain into the hands of Graham. “It’ll be weak with the three of you under it but it should be enough if you stay quiet and don't move.” She gives her sonic over to Graham as well and he looks at in puzzlement.

Ryan stares down at it in his grandad's hands before looking back up at her. “So it’s like the invisibility cloak from Harry Potter then?” said Ryan quickly. Making Yaz turn to him in amazement. “What I read it? Everyone did Yaz, don’t look at me like I can’t read,” replied Ryan in a defensive manner.

“Really not important at the moment son,” muttered Graham while looking down at the key and sonic. “So how does it work then?”

“Just place it around your necks and be quiet, you can’t move, can’t make a sound that’ll draw them over here. With the sonic, you’ll need to hold onto that and never take your finger from the button, it’ll help boost the signal, hide you for longer, the sound from it will be masked by the perception filter.” she rambled off quickly and Graham nods in understanding and goes to follow her orders just as Yaz places an arm out, stopping him.

“What about you Doctor? You look human.”

“I’ll be fine, they’ll scan me and realise I’m not human and move on, hopefully, but I’m not important. You are, just please put that on.” She turns away and only glances back once, her eyes locking with Grahams and he gives her another quick nod before placing the long chain around their necks and clicking on the sonic.

The effect is instant, she knows they're there but she can't focus on them, can't see them or in better terms, doesn't want to see them. And that's for the best, she doesn't want to see the fear on their faces anymore. She turns to face the onslaught as she stands guard over her Fam, her back to them shielding them from the brutal chaos all around them.

 

* * *

 

They were there for hours, legs and hearts aching watching the brutality unfold around them but true to her word, they were safe and protected. Unlike the thousand around them, with no hope other than luck.

The journey back to the TARDIS is sombre with the occasional flinch or jump when something collapses in the debris or there’s a yell off in the distance. After the third instance, the three humans huddle, following after the Doctor like sheep, their hands held together. Ryan and Yaz have their heads lowered, while Graham stares ahead, his eyes never leaving her back and she spots the thoughtful look on his face.

The TARDIS is a welcome relief in the distance, safety… and home. Where they can’t be hurt or taken, where she can always keep an eye on them and for the briefest moment she never wants them to leave the doors again, to keep them permanently safe within her ship. She doesn’t say a word as she holds the doors to sanctuary open for them to enter first, her eyes watching the horizon and seeing the devastation left in their wake.

Thousands dead, or stolen, and she couldn’t do a damn thing to stop it without risking the three people that she cares about, the three people that are currently her entire world. To save three humans or three thousand humans. It was never a choice really.

Because she can’t lose again, can’t go back to Earth without her friends. Can’t abandon their family, leave them wondering whether they’ll ever see them again and always left empty and not knowing. Her mind drifts to past companions, long gone now… and then to their relatives. Brian left to water the plants, never to see his son or daughter-in-law again. Wilf, knowing everything that Donna did and saved, and forever unable to tell her lest he kills her.

There’s a hand on her shoulder snapping her from her thoughts and she looks into the tired eyes of Graham. “I think it’s best for the moment if we… if we go back to Sheffield Doc.” She watches as he flicks his eyes to Yaz and Ryan, both huddled together with distant looks on their faces. “We were talking ‘bout it, probably for the best right now.”

She nods and easily selects the remembered coordinates with practised ease. For once the ship takes off without a jolt or stumble. There’s the gentle landing that she rarely ever has, almost like the ship knows the current mood within her. She sees Graham look at the door.

“Where are we, usual spot or my living room this time?” wondered Graham and she knows he’s trying to alleviate the situation.

“Outside Yaz’s.” is her quiet response and Graham nods once before heading back over to Ryan and Yaz and speaking to them in hushed tones, only glancing back once or twice. She lowers her head, hardly wants to hear or see what they're saying about her. She hears the doors open and close and considers running and never returning and she goes to input anything, just anywhere away from Earth when the same hand lands on her shoulder again.

“It wasn’t your fault, you know that right.” Damn him, she thought they all went. “Whether you said you should’ve checked or not, it wasn’t your fault.” She leans down onto the console and refuses to look into his eyes. “Doc.” And there’s that hand again, forcing her to pay attention to him. “It really wasn’t your fault.”

There’s a pause and she takes in a shaky breath before finally looking into his caring eyes. “I had a duty of care and I failed Graham.” She looks down again and away from his frown. His judging look, she reckons.

“You didn’t fail though, you got us back and yeah, it was a hard day but you got us back Doc.” That wasn’t what she was expecting, she would have dealt with a telling off for putting them in that situation but that, that wasn’t on the cards. His acceptance of her and forgiveness.

She looks back up again and decides to tell him the truth, what she’s truly feeling. “At the cost of thousands Graham.” There’s another pause and his hand lifts slightly and his eyes are narrowed and scrutinising her. That’s what she was expecting.

“What do you mean?” His tone isn’t accusing per se, it’s more tight and measured she thinks. “What are you saying?”

“I chose to save three humans over the lives of thousands Graham, and I would easily make that choice again if it came to it, I would make that choice every time. I can’t lose you, can’t lose you like Bill or Clara, or… or..” She breaks, her concealed emotions overrunning her from the stress and he does something unexpected that causes her to flinch as he wraps his arms around her shaking form.

“I ain’t gonna pretend I’m not at least a little concerned with who those people were Doc or what you’re saying but…” His arms hold onto her tighter and she relaxes into his grip, for once being glad that she’s smaller than her companions as his arms envelop her in one comforting motion. She’s definitely a hugger this time around. “But you warned us of the dangers and we decided to come anyway, that’s on us, not you.”

“I shouldn’t have put you in that situation anyway, in danger like that. It was meant to be different this time.”

She feels him take in a deep breath as he rests his head on the top of hers. “No offence Doc, but I could walk out my house and get hit by a bus in a cruel stroke of fate or heavens forbid something happens to Ryan or Yaz. Something that you’re not able to stop cause you weren’t there, and that’s on Earth alone, you can’t watch us at all times.”

She shakes her head. “But when you’re with me I have a du..”

“Oh my days, Doc, I have a duty of care to Ryan and Yaz, she has a duty of care to the people she gets called to.” He lets her go and she misses the grip like a limb before looking up at him and seeing his kind, if not tired smile. “And Doc, to be fair mate, I think we have a duty of care to you, as well.”

“That isn’t your job Graham, it’s none of yours.”

“And if that job isn’t ours, then it ain’t yours either you daft old woman.”

“Oi, you!”

Graham shrugs and smirks at her. “You’re always telling me you're older than me, even if you don’t look or act like it half the damn time.” He extends a hand to her. “Come back to mine, we’ll have a tea and do a movie night or something, I’ll even let you pick the film.”

She considers declining him but the ache in her hearts persuade her not too and she accepts his offered hand in thanks. “You know, you’re gonna regret telling me that Graham.”

“I already do Doc, I already do. Now come on, cause even though I told Ryan and Yaz to head back I very much doubt they have, probably stood out in the cold waiting for us old folks to be done with our chat.”

She turns and gives him a calculating gaze. “You planned this, didn’t you Graham?”

“I ain’t just a pretty face Doc.” He smirks back at her before pulling her towards the doors and out into the cold spring air of Sheffield, she sees, as he said, Ryan and Yaz waiting for them. Small smiles on their faces.

Her fam, her duty of care… and in turn, their own duty of care to her, waiting and standing with her even after a disastrous trip like that. And she’s so grateful to them, her Fam, the best the Earth has to offer.


End file.
